Palworld developer Pocketpair has revealed details of Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s lawsuit which alleges that the game infringes on multiple patents.
The monster battling and catching game had frequently been compared with Pokémon since its launch for PC and Xbox Series X/S in January. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s lawsuit was filed just weeks before Palworld’s PlayStation 5 version launched at the end of September.
Today, Pocketpair revealed that the lawsuit relates to three patents filed between February and July this year – after Palworld’s launch. However, they relate to a pre-existing “parent” patent filed by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company in December 2021, preceding Palworld’s launch, meaning they could indeed still apply to Palworld now.
The developer also stated that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are seeking “an injunction against Palworld”, presumably to block its future sale within the Japanese jurisdiction of the patent lawsuit, as well as a fine of 10m yen (around £50k) split between the two firms, plus “late payment damages”.
So, what are the patents Palworld is accused of infringing on?
As expected and sniffed out by fans and industry watchers previously, Nintendo’s patents numbered 7545191, 7493117 and 7528390 lie at the heart of this legal action. These all cover gameplay mechanics such as the capture of digital creatures and the ability to ride on them.
We previously highlighted the first of these patents in particular as likely behind the Palworld lawsuit.
The patent in question describes how a character catches a Pokémon by aiming and throwing a capture item, like a Pokéball, at a creature. Upon successful capture, the creature then becomes “owned by the player”.
In Palworld, players catch Pals by aiming and throwing a capture item, named a Pal Sphere, at a creature. Upon successful capture, the creature then becomes owned by the player.
Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara previously dubbed the document a “killer patent” that would be “easy to infringe”.
Writing today, Palworld said once again it would continue to fight the case. “We will continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings,” it said.